Preview: What tennis events are coming up in May 2023?
• 4 MINUTE READ
We’re turning our attention to another stacked month in the tennis world as we prepare for another combined ATP and WTA 1000 event in Rome, Great Britain battling for victory at the world cup of Wheelchair tennis, and of course, the long-awaited arrival of the second Grand Slam of the season – Roland Garros.
Key Events
With May set to serve up another jam-packed schedule, we’ve pulled together all the must-watch ATP, WTA and wheelchair tournaments for the upcoming month, so you don’t miss a minute of the action.
1-7 May: Madrid Open concludes while Great Britain compete for World Team Cup victory
Events:
- Madrid Open (ATP 1000 & WTA 1000)
- BNP Paribas World Team Cup
- L’Open 35 De Saint Malo (WTA 125)
- Catalonia Open (WTA 125)
- Open Aix Provence Credit Agricole (Challenger 175)
- Sardegna Open (Challenger 175)
- W25 & M25 Nottingham (ITF)
BNP Paribas World Team Cup
The BNP Paribas World Team Cup, taking place in Portugal between 1-7 May, will kick off a busy month in wheelchair tennis. Great Britain – led by Team Leader Erik Koers, will compete in three out of the four events (men’s, women’s and juniors) at the wheelchair tennis equivalent of the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup.
Find out which players will be representing Great Britain
Madrid Open
The first week of May will also see the conclusion of the Madrid Open. The combined ATP and WTA 1000 event will welcome a host of British talent, with joint doubles world No.1 Neal Skupski set to defend his men’s doubles title alongside partner Wesley Koolhof. The women’s final will take place on Saturday 6 May, while the men’s final is on Sunday 7 May.
Keep up to date with the Brits in Madrid
8-14 May: ATP and WTA tours head to Rome for combined 1000 events
Events:
- Internazionali BNL d’Italia (ATP Masters 1000 & WTA 1000)
- W60 Zagreb
Italian Open
From Madrid to Rome, the ATP and WTA tours will then make the journey to the Italian capital for a fortnight of tennis action at the final 1000 event of the clay court season – commencing on 9 May and concluding on 21 May.
Last year saw Iga Swiatek continue to exhibit her skill on the clay as the world No.1 extended her win streak to 28 matches with a dominant 6-2, 6-2 victory against Ons Jabeur in the final. Meanwhile, the Italian Open marked one to remember for Novak Djokovic who not only clinched his first title in over six months after a straight-sets triumph over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final, but also sealed his 1,000th tour-level win by beating Casper Ruud in the semi-final.
15-22 May: Rising tennis talents take on WTA 125 and ATP Challenger events
Events:
- Trophee Clarins (WTA 125)
- Firenze Ladies Open (WTA 125)
- BNP Paribas Primrose (Challenger 175)
- Piemonte Open Intesa Sanpaolo (Challenger 175)
The calm before the Grand Slam storm will see two WTA 125 and two Challenger 175 populate the schedule for the third week of May.
BNP Paribas Primrose
Having played host to some of the brightest upcoming talent over the years, the 2023 instalment of the BNP Paribas Primrose event will take place from 14-20 May. With Alexei Popyrin, Reilly Opelka, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Gael Monfils amongst the list of past champions, we can expect to see a star-studded field of up-and-coming players on this year’s entry list.
Trophee Clarins
WTA stars will be heading to France for the second addition of the Trophee Clarins. Last year, seventh seed Claire Liu became the inaugural champion after defeating third seed Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-3, 6-4 in the final to claim her first WTA 125 title.
23-30 May: Roland Garros headlines the final days in May
Events:
- Roland Garros (Grand Slam)
- Tram Barcelona Open (ITF 1 Series)
- Open International de Royan (ITF 1 Series)
- Internationaux de Strasbourg (WTA 250)
- Grand Prix Son Altesse Royale la Princesse Lalla Meryem (WTA 250)
Roland Garros
The back end of May will mark the start of the highly anticipated second Grand Slam of 2023. A full line-up of the world’s best ATP, WTA and Wheelchair players will take to the French clay in a bid to be crowned champion in Paris. Main draw action will kick off on 18 May, while qualifying rounds will take place earlier in the week.
A host of Brits are set to take the stage, with Cam Norrie, Dan Evans, Jack Draper, Kyle Edmund and 2016 runner-up Andy Murray all scheduled to compete in the men’s main draw, while last year’s men’s wheelchair doubles champions Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid will be looking to defend their title as they go in pursuit of a 17th Grand Slam title together. Qualifier and wild cards are yet to be announced.
Tram Barcelona Open
The wheelchair tour will move on to the Tram Barcelona Open in the lead up to Roland Garros – taking place 24-28 May. The event proved to be a success for the Brits in 2022, with current World No.1 Hewett claiming doubles victory alongside Belgium’s Joachim Gerard after securing a comeback win against Martin De la Puente and Gustavo Fernandez; while Lucy Shuker finished runner up with Aniek Van Koot in the women’s doubles draw.
The tournament has ITF 1 Series status for the first time this year and Hewett, Reid, Shuker and Andy Lapthorne are all scheduled to contest the men, women's and quad draws. Will there be another British champion this year?
View the full season tennis schedules:
